NHL ROUNDUP : Oates Scores Three Goals, Fuels Boston’s 4-3 Victory

It has been nearly a month since the All-Star break.

Thursday night, Adam Oates finally came back.

All the way back.

Oates, who had 95 points at the break, has struggled of late, contributing only eight points in his last nine games.

Part of the problem has been a long bout with flu.

But Oates put his problems behind him Thursday night, scoring three goals and adding an assist to lead the Boston Bruins to a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Boston.

Cam Neely also scored for the Bruins, 35-3-4 at home against Vancouver since the Canucks entered the NHL.

Pavel Bure had his 53rd goal for Vancouver.

Winnipeg 5, Edmonton 3--Record-setting rookie Teemu Selanne had two goals and two assists in Edmonton.

Selanne’s second goal--his 56th of the season--was scored into an empty net with 1:52 remaining to secure the victory. He broke the rookie record of 53 goals by Mike Bossy while scoring three times against Quebec earlier this week.

His four-point outing left Selanne with 98, 11 short of the NHL rookie record set by Peter Stastny of the Quebec Nordiques during the 1980-81 season.

St. Louis 2, Calgary 1--Jeff Brown’s short-handed goal broke a second-period tie in St. Louis, enabling the Blues to win their fourth in a row.

St. Louis has given up only four goals during its winning streak. Goalie Curtis Joseph has averaged 30 saves in that span, and had 25 against the Flames.

Brett Hull of the Blues scored his 46th goal and 27th in 31 games.

Quebec 3, Chicago 3--Valeri Kamensky knocked in a seven-footer from in front of the net for a short-handed goal with 1:25 to play in regulation, enabling the Nordiques to escape with a tie at Chicago.